Olaf Schröder, chief executive of Constantin Medien and chairman of the management board of Sport1, said: “The long-term continuation of our partnership for another five years underlines the confidence of both the league and Telekom in this successful model with a continuous free-TV presence as well as all-round coverage on Sport1.de, our apps and social media channels. With the BBL, the DEL [Deutsche Eishockey Liga] and the Volleyball Bundesliga, three of the leading German sports and their national top leagues have their free-TV home on Sport1.”

OSN’s decision to close most of its sports channels will leave a vacuum in the Middle East and North Africa for rights-holders that is unlikely to be filled for some time, experts have told SportBusiness M...